


Sanctum

by autumnstwilight (sewohayami)



Series: Calamity/Sanctum [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, One Shot, in which zelda gets to be badass, one does not simply walk into hyrule castle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 08:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11596953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sewohayami/pseuds/autumnstwilight
Summary: At last the terrible face of the Calamity wheeled towards her, its eyes tiny points like glowing embers in the great darkness. It was overall something like a hideous boar, immense hooked tusks curving forward from the murky outline of its face. Its mouth opened in a great roar.Sequel/companion piece to "Calamity". Now the sole survivor, Zelda sets out for Hyrule Castle to face Ganon alone.





	Sanctum

**Author's Note:**

> Writing soundtrack: [Hiroyuki Sawano/Aimee Blackschleger- Layers](https://youtu.be/AGWTYuBn4rM)
> 
> I have paraphrased most of the dialogue from the English version, with the exception of "You're going to be just fine". The Japanese line here is "Please don't die", and I like that better. (The other lines I quoted are pretty much the same in both versions).
> 
> ... also it's been a long time since I saw the cutscene of Zelda sealing Ganon in the past, and naturally the day I finish this someone posts a gifset showing me exactly how much this differs from the ingame version. Call it artistic license, or simply Rhoam not being there to actually see it.

Zelda stared in disbelief at the face before her. "Mother," she cried, "Mother, why did you abandon me?"

The shining visage of the goddess looked sorrowful. _Zelda, my Zelda, I would never abandon you. But this power is a great burden. There were cracks in your mind that would shatter if I were to let my power flow through you while you were unready. I am sorry for all you have suffered._

"Revali, Daruk, Mipha, Urbosa! They're all dead! You should have taken me! I would have broken to save them! To do anything! They're dead because of us!"

Warm light settled around her, a maternal embrace.

_I wanted so much to help you and could not. I promise, I will always be here._

The vision faded, leaving Zelda unsure of the reality of what she had seen. "Was that... the power...?" she murmured in a daze. Behind her, she heard a groan of pain.

"Link!"

She ran to him, cradled him, feeling his blood run through her fingers, his body growing colder in her arms. Again she was too slow, too late, useless.

"Please don't die!"

His eyes stared up into hers, full of a quiet desperation. And then he was gone.

\---

She walked alone through the misty woods, the sacred blade in her hand. She held it as if it were made of glass, for all she knew it could shatter at any moment.

Gentle rain fell upon her shoulders, washing away much of the grime and blood that clung to her. She somehow felt that the forest recognized her, no, recognized Hylia, as the rain cleansed her and the wind guided her. The creatures of the forest neither approached her nor fled, but kept watch silently.

She had entrusted his body to the Sheikah, and knew he was now in the Temple of Time, being prepared for his long slumber in the Shrine of Resurrection. Her poor, sweet, hero, who had given everything he had for her, while she had done nothing. She couldn't even convince him to save himself, nor make the journey to look at his ruined body, even to say goodbye. _Link, I'm so sorry..._

Now there was nothing but the mist and the wind, and the loneliness of holding his battered sword. It had spoken to her only once more, not a voice, but a vision of her mission. Then it had fallen silent. She wondered if whatever spirit that lived in it had died too.

At last, rays of sunlight broke through the mist, and she knew she was nearing her destination. She pushed through into a clearing and saw the dais, at its center the pedestal for the sword. Behind it stood a great tree, the most immense she had ever seen. This place was beautiful.

A noise behind her brought her to her senses. She turned and saw a creature that seemed to be made of wood and leaves, the likes of which she had never seen nor heard of. As she watched, another crept forward to join it. More appeared, revealing themselves from within the dappled sunlight. They chattered to each other in strange, high pitched voices, clearly curious about this stranger. One was slapping another on the back excitedly.

She lay the sword across the pedestal and knelt to pray. Her powers could not restore the sword, this place had a magic of its own that was beyond her limits. Still, she spoke to the sword, words of hope, so that the spirits of this place could hear her wish.

The tree stirred, revealing a face and voice like that of a wizened old man. _The Great Deku Tree. So the stories are real_. In a ponderous tone it asked her what she intended to do next. She cast her gaze downward, looking sorrowfully at the battered blade.

"The Master Sword. It spoke to me. It seems that my role is unfinished. There is still something that I must do."

"I sense there is great strength in your dedication," the tree replied.

Words rose up in her throat, she hesitated but it was now or never.

"I ask of you, when he returns, can you please relay this message? Tell him I-"

But the tree only gave a creaky wooden smile, and assured her that her hero would surely prefer to hear the words from her own mouth.

She nodded, tears burning at the corner of her eyes. Despite herself, she smiled for the first time since it had all begun. _When they met again_. Yes, here, in this clearing, for the first time she was truly certain that the day would come.

Behind her, the forest spirits skittered and played. It seemed that some of them had gathered twigs, and were now imitating the sword fights of a legendary hero. Their childish games gave her hope. Here was something fresh and green, alive and untouched.

She stood above the pedestal and closed her eyes as she held out the blade.

It felt like letting go of the last she had of him.

_But only for now._

The Master Sword slid into its resting place with a faint sound of metal on stone. She stepped back, and saw a faint bluish glow begin to trace its way up the sacred blade. It lived, and it would restore itself, stronger than before. Renewed hope welled up inside her for its lost owner. _He will come for you, and you will be waiting for him_ . _As will I._

\---

Zelda arrived in front of the castle town, under the maelstrom of shadow that now circled it. She heard the sound of Guardians activating, red light shining on her, and silenced them with a wave of her hand. She made her way down the central road. Everything here was ruined, scorched, covered in ash and dust. Pain seized her chest. Had it really been only a few days?

Twisted and broken bodies lay here and there in the streets, flesh blackened and corroded, charred bones protruding from dried and tented skin. A pair of corpses lay spread on the ground, hand in hand. Another huddled beneath the remains of a bush, arms like dry twigs clenched around its knees. It was very small.

A few days before, she might have lost herself in hopelessness at the sight. Now determination formed in her like cold steel. The Goddess had granted her the power to stop the beast. No one else would suffer this.

The light rose from her body like the wavering of a mirage. It formed a delicate shell around her, warding off the flickering shadows. The mark of the Triforce glowed on the back of her hand as she moved forward.

A strange black liquid oozed and flowed from some of the ruins, with a sickly iridescent sheen. It made her think of rot, decay, infected wounds turning purulent and dark as poison spread out from them. The smell was putrescent.

From the edge of a house, a growth swelled and budded like a twisted flower. It opened to reveal an orange eye with a slitted pupil. The eye was expressionless and yet somehow emanated sheer hatred. It turned to look at her with its furious and horrible gaze.

 _Malice_ , she thought, the knowledge welling up in her from somewhere unknown. _Evil and ill-will taken physical form. Its touch burns and corrupts flesh. A tool of Ganon._

The eye was still staring at her.

 _He knows I am here_.

The air around her darkened, and the flickering shadows moved more quickly, more menacingly. She chanted under her breath, strengthening the barrier of light around her. She realized that the faint rustling she had heard was not the wind, but indistinct voices, like those heard on the edge of sleep.

The grim air began to stir. Tendrils of darkness reached out for her, yet they could not penetrate the light. Still they whispered, in voices like the rasp of dead trees.

_Heir to a throne of nothing, princess of devastation..._

_Failure, useless, too late..._

_No one to help you..._

_You killed them!_

Her gaze steadfast, she continued forward, step by step across the ruined bridge. Shadows beat themselves against her barrier like demented birds, but she feigned fearlessness as she pressed on, until she stood before the castle gate.

The air around her feet shimmered, and she rose from the ground, her steps tracing ripples of light as if she were walking on a still lake. The town was far below her now, the wreckage fading into the gloom. Before her was the Sanctum, where the heart of the demon beat.

The shadows were furious now, their shapes growing starker and more fearsome, writhing monsters, humanoid shapes with great claws,tortured faces screaming against the shimmering walls that surrounded her. At last the terrible face of the Calamity wheeled towards her, its eyes tiny points like glowing embers in the great darkness. It was overall something like a hideous boar, immense hooked tusks curving forward from the murky outline of its face. Its mouth opened in a great roar.

The tenebrous body of the monster seized and shook the castle to its foundations, sending shingles and bricks raining to the dusty ground. A parapet swayed and cracked, falling outwards, crumbling as it hit the ground. The swirling storm tore open roofs and broke apart walls. Zelda's light protected her from the worst of the falling debris, and she began to speak the prayer to Hylia.

The mark on her right hand brightened, its radiance enraging the beast. The shadowy figures screamed and beat their fists and claws against her barrier. Malice rained from the clouds, clinging to the stone in sickening globs, hundreds of eyes bursting forth, each one fixing its horrid gaze upon her. Then the great maw of the beast raced forward, engulfing shadows and light alike.

Its fangs ground against the shell of light, testing its limits. Still reciting her praises of Hylia, Zelda was forced to redirect some of her focus towards maintaining her protection. There was a great crack, and the beast pulled back, its right fang broken in two. Fractured spiderwebs began to spread across the surface of the barrier. Before Zelda could react, the howling figures raced towards her, now solid with the sickly iridescence of Malice, misshapen orange eyes protruding from necks and limbs and torsos. Their bodies disintegrated into mist as they hit the barrier, but each one took its toll. The light shattered like springtime ice on a river. Suddenly her attention was consumed by fending off the onslaught.

They were too close, it was all she could do to keep the creatures at bay, she could not hold them far back enough to recoalesce her shield. Thus, she had one chance. One chance to finish her prayer. She abandoned her defenses and raised her voice to the heavens.

The first blast of Malice seared her face and eyes, blinding her, yet she kept chanting in a lilting ancient tongue, unknown even to her. Fingers of Malice crept around her ankles, up to her thighs, burning her flesh.

_You will fail..._

_This is a place of death..._

_There is no light..._

_Only darkness!_

Her voice only grew louder, echoing as though others long dead spoke through her, _the same hope, the same prayer, the same vow_. Malice ripped through her hands clasped in prayer, melting the flesh from her fingers and arms down to the bone, tearing through her face and chest, and at last burning out her tongue.

For a moment, her prayers fell silent, her hands limp by her sides. The corruption pooled around her, beginning to consume her. Her body had been opened up. And yet. Within her was no flesh and bone, only light that shone like molten gold. The great beast looked down in confusion as she burst from within herself as a creature of pure light, ascending, then howled in pain as she burned like the sun.

_Suffer, pig._

She was judgement and justice. Golden flames swirled around her like vengeful angels. Tendrils of fire reached for the ground like whirlwinds, scorching the creature where they touched. Shards of light fell like volleys of arrows, piercing Malice and demon alike. The darkness withered under her assault.

Shadowy claws reached up from the depths, hands like gaping maws ready to swallow her, but they could not touch. They writhed and hissed as the light burned them to dust.

She felt the beast weakening, and knew it was time. The incantation spilled from her shining lips, rays of light rending monstrous flesh and forming chains to bind. The creature howled and struggled again and again, but its bonds held firm as rivers of black blood poured from the castle towers. He was trapped.

Zelda felt Hylia's mind within and beside her own, the eternal serenity of the Goddess, and the steadfast will of all those who had used her power before. She was not alone here. And she felt them promise, her hero would come.

She no longer had a body, she was beyond time itself. She was the fire that burned Ganon and the shackles that bound him. The Goddess had sent her as a punishment for evil. She was his hell now.

The beast writhed in its chains, howling in rage and agony. A moment, a hundred years. She would wait.


End file.
